ACCHD Administrator, Sharon Shaw said the individual was tested in a Houston-area hospital and remains in a Houston hospital. The individual had traveled out of the state and became ill after returning to Lufkin, according to information Shaw shared with Lufkin City Manager Keith Wright.

“The patient spent only a short amount of time back in Lufkin before seeking medical care in Houston,” Wright said.

ACCHD is now working to identify people and places the patient may have contacted during their time in Lufkin.

“Some of those interventions will include contact tracing and notification to those who may have been in close contact with a positive case, and guidance for self-quarantine and self-monitoring,” Shaw said. “The Angelina County & Cities Health District is working closely with city and county leadership and our healthcare community to provide timely public health interventions in response to COVID-19.”

City of Lufkin Director of Public Safety Gerald Williamson said the city’s emergency management team will use this information to determine how to move forward.

“Last week city council voted to take precautions ensuring the safety of the community,” Williamson said. “We’re pleased with the community’s response to those precautions. We ask citizens to remain vigilant with social distancing and limiting non-essentials trips out of their homes. We are not through this yet. It will take everyone’s cooperation to contain this deadly disease.”

Angelina County Judge Don Lymbery echoed Williamson’s message, reminding everyone that this is a long-term problem.

“Folks, we’ve got a fight on our hands. We can no longer say that it’s everywhere else and not here,” Lymbery said. “Please everybody take this seriously and understand the county and city is doing everything for your protection and we all need to realize that it is going to be a long battle.”